Future-proof migration to GA4

Wehkamp enlisted the help of our Technical Web Analysts to migrate their data from UA360 to GA4.

Approach

Our approach to migration consisted of 5 steps:

1: Deepdive into the current implementation of UA360 and Firebase: we analysed the current implementation in UA360 for the website and Firebase for the app to create an overview of the account and event structure. During this deepdive, we looked at what data was collected in both tools.

2: Overview of measurements to be migrated to GA4: in consultation with all stakeholders, we identified the measurements to be migrated. For example, we talked to Web analysts, Marketing analysts, Data Scientists and Data Engineers about what reports, dashboards and machine learning models they were using. This gave us a complete overview of all measurements used in the web and app environments.

3: Future-proof and consistent measurement plan: based on the overview, we created a measurement plan that met the following requirements:

• Multiplatform: the app and web environments had to be included.
• Multilabel: Wehkamp Retail Group has multiple brands: Wehkamp, Kleertjes.com and Union River. We also included these brands in one central measurement plan.
• Multicountry: we drafted the measurement plan in English. If Wehkamp wants to grow internationally, they don't need to adjust the measurement plan accordingly.

We ensured that the documentation and definitions of events and parameters were clearly defined. This made it clear to all teams within Wehkamp what it meant. The developers could then get to work implementing the GA4 events.

4. Testing & debugging implemented events: for the web environment, we tested in the development environment. Here, we checked that events were fired properly and that the corresponding parameters were pushed correctly. For the app environment, we used the debug view in GA4. Here we could test whether the events fired properly and parameters were logged.

5. Configuring GA4 interface: events were sent via Google Tagmanager for the web environment and via Firebase for the app environment. The parameters and other settings still needed to be configured for both environments.

Result

We implemented more than 300 different events for the website and key events (screen_view and ecommerce events) for the app. This allows Wehkamp to collect data in GA4 for at least another year for UA360's sunset. In addition, we were able to significantly improve data quality. All events are now measured correctly and consistently.

The measurement plan is scalable and future-proofed, making it easy to make changes.

Future

Reports, dashboards and machine learning models will be set up in the coming period based on GA4 measurements for the app and the website. Users of the tool will also undergo GA4 training so that they have a good understanding of how the tool works. Wehkamp is ready for the future and can switch to GA4 without any problems before the UA360 sunset.

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